Bleak Yuletide as civil servants battle credit crunch

For most civil servants across the country who are contending with backlog of unpaid salaries, the yuletide season has been rough and tough, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

FOR Mr. Arinze Enweremji, a federal civil servant, this yuletide season is arguably the most low-key one he has celebrated in years. And the reason for this is not far to seek: no salaries.

Speaking with The Nation over the weekend, Enweremji, who is the sole breadwinner of his family lamented that the paucity of funds has dulled the usual glitz and glamour that comes with celebrating the yuletide.

“For as long as I can remember, the yuletide season has always been a period to felicitate with my nuclear and extended families. But this year’s celebration is the worse I have experienced in years. It has been rough and tough these past months,” he said.

Pressed further, he said: “With no salaries paid in the last three months, we barely survive with the little savings I have. Unlike the usual practice of travelling to the east during Christmas and New Year, we had to put this on hold this year and my families are not happy about this development. But then there is nothing I can do.”

What is particularly worrisome, he said: “Is the fact that the government and its agents have been playing politics with this whole thing. There is a lot of misinformation and miscommunication because nobody seems to have any clue as to when we shall be paid. It’s been one failed promises or the other.”

Enweremji is not alone. Many civil servants across the federation are experiencing the bitter pill of unpaid salaries.

Suffering all the way

Investigation by The Nation revealed that some federal and state workers have had to endure hard time this yuletide as they have not been paid in the last three months.

While few state government workers have had their salaries paid up to date, a majority have not been so lucky.

The Nation can authoritatively report that the few federal and state agencies that managed to pay salaries of their workers still owed pensioners.

The Nation gathered that the delay in paying salaries might not be unconnected with the shortfall in government oil revenue.

Work to rule

Following the failure of the federal government to pay some of its workers, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria said it would ask its members to embark on a nationwide strike if the federal government failed to pay the October and November salary arrears.

While calling on government to use the N9.2bn earmarked to buy stoves for “rural women” to offset the October and November salaries as well as that of December, the ASCSN urged the government to pay the affected workers before Christmas or “face the wrath of Nigerian workers.”

The Secretary-General of ASSCN, Mr. Alade Lawal, in a statement in Abuja last Thursday, expressed sadness that the federal government had not been able to pay thousands of civil servants for almost three months.

He said: “As we write, information reaching us from informed quarters indicates that about 30 ministries, departments and agencies will not pay December 2014 salaries to their employees.

“It is very unfortunate that since October 2014, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Works, Labour and Productivity as well as a host of other MDAs have not paid salaries to their workers.”

The ASCSN lamented that the reality on the ground was that “thousands of civil servants and their dependants would celebrate the Christmas and New Year in sorrow.”

The union therefore called on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the matter and ensure that civil servants were paid three-month salaries before the Yuletide so as to put smile on their faces.

“We cannot understand how N9.2bn would be spent on stoves while workers who toil daily to keep the wheels of government functioning cannot be paid their meagre salaries,” the ASCSN stated.

The group recalled that last year, more than 40 MDAs did not pay December salaries to their workers, adding that when the matter was tabled before the government, its officials were quick to deny it.

This prompted ASSCN to publish the names of the MDAs that were involved in the non-payment of salaries.

According to the ASCSN, based on the sad experience of last year, “one would have expected that serious steps would have been taken to ensure that the ugly scenario did not repeat itself.

“Unfortunately, we are now back to square one. Workers, to say the least, are very sad as they can no longer meet their immediate needs as a result of refusal of government to pay them their salaries,” the ASCSN stated.

When contacted, the Special Adviser, Communication to the Minister of Finance, Paul Nwabuikwu, promised to get back to our correspondent on the matter.

He later issued a statement in which he claimed that an overwhelming majority of civil servants were getting their salaries regularly.

He blamed the delay in the payment of others on a “technical glitch” and some MDAs.

Nwabuikwu said, “The true situation, as stated by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy (Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala) during the presentation of the 2015 budget proposal yesterday (Wednesday) is that there was a delay in paying the salaries of some civil servants in some ministries due to a technical glitch which affected the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System through which payments are made.

“Delays were also caused by some ministries, departments and agencies using money set aside for salaries to pay allowances without consultation with the Budget Office.

“As CME has promised, the issues are being resolved and all civil servants will be paid their salaries before the end of December.”

He accused those behind the claims of non-payment of salaries as being a tool of political groups ready to deploy “scurrilous falsehood against the policies and programmes of the federal government.”

In Ogun State, civil servants have demanded the regular payment of their monthly salaries as opposed to current staggered mode of payments.

The state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Ambali Akeem, who spoke for the workers, in Abeokuta, said the government which claimed to be generating N6bn internally should be paying workers promptly.

Investigations revealed that workers were paid in batches, starting with those at the lower cadre.

This mode of payment, it was gathered, started in October when some cadres got their salaries on November 15.

Akeem said since some of the workers had yet to be paid their November salaries, the hope of getting those of December appeared dim.

He said, “Our monthly salary bill is about N2.5bn. So, if the government as of the last two weeks hinted that the Internally Generated Revenue had hit N6bn, then what is the rationale behind the non- payment of the November salaries of some workers in the state?

“There is no hope of December salaries. Workers are being thrown into a state of confusion. It is unjustifiable and we demand urgent attention.

“Maybe some people are trying to mislead the governor. It is good to do infrastructure developments, but where there is no human capital development, there cannot be happy civil servants.”

Also, the Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, condemned the practice.

The association, an affiliate of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, raised eyebrows over the development in a statement by its Secretary, Adebiyi Olusegun.

It said, “The now familiar selective payment system embraced by the state government where public workers get their legitimate earning long behind due date and the payment in haphazard mode is totally unbelievable and unacceptable.”

But the Media aide to the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said that it would be mischievous for any worker to claim that the government owed December salaries.

He said that the government owed November salaries and was doing everything to ensure that workers were paid soon.

This government introduced 13th month salary for workers, among other things.”

In Kogi State, local government workers have not been receiving their full salaries since last year allegedly because of the dwindling revenue.

Our correspondent gathered that the local government workers had been receiving part of their salaries since last year.

In Bayelsa State, pensioners have protested the non-payment of their pensions and other entitlements by the government.

The pensioners, under the auspices of Nigerian Union of Pensioners, had accused Governor Seriake Dickson of lacking respect for the elderly and deliberately withholding their pensions.

During the protest, the pensioners also accused the government of tying down their N250m monthly payment.

They also said the governor had refused to comply with his promise to release N300m every month to them.

Living in denial

In a move which analysts have argued is reminiscent of the proverbial ostrich which is wont to bury its head as though everything is well, the Coordinating Minister of the Nigerian Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, did upbraid the (Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria), apex body of the civil servants, accusing them of peddling rumours and falsehood for alleging that government owed civil servants salaries.

She insisted that contrary to the claim by the group that civil servants had not been paid their October and November salaries, only a few were in that category while most of them were being regularly paid.

The minister regretted in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, that the association had since gained notoriety for distortion of facts and accused them of being ready political tools that do not represent the interest of the majority of its members.

“The recent press release issued by a group which calls itself the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is full of falsehood and distortions about the current status of the payment of federal civil servants.

“The group is fast earning a reputation as a tool of political groups ready to deploy scurrilous falsehood against the policies and programmes of the federal government. It clearly does not represent the interest of the vast majority of hard working and professional civil servants.

“Contrary to the group’s statement, it is absolutely untrue that ‘government has not been able to pay thousands of civil servants their October and November salaries.

“As can be confirmed, the overwhelming majority of civil servants are getting their salaries regularly.

“The true situation, as stated by the CME during the presentation of the 2015 Budget proposal yesterday is that there was a delay in paying the salaries of some civil servants in some ministries due to a technical glitch which affected the IPPIS system through which payments are made.

“Delays were also caused by some MDAs using money set aside for salaries to pay allowances without consultation with the Budget Office.

“As CME has promised, the issues are being resolved and all civil servants will be paid their salaries before the end of December,” the statement said.

Ray of hope

Apparently playing to the gallery, the federal government had assured that December salaries along with past months arrears would be paid before the festivities proper to the admiration of all.

This is contained in a statement issued by Ministry of Finance, signed by Mr Paul Nwabuikwu, spokesman to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

“The processing of the December salaries started on Friday and is continuing today.

“Civil servants should therefore get the salaries in their accounts shortly.

“Also being processed are the salaries of the staff of 14 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) where there has been a misuse of the salary budgets to pay promotion arrears and other allowances,” it said.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), it said the IPPIS system, which was programmed to reject irregular procedures, had locked the MDAs in question out of the system.

“This led to the unfortunate delays,” it added.

According to the statement, action has been taken to rectify the problem and the salary arrears of the staff of the affected MDAs would be paid along with those of their colleagues in other agencies.

It noted that the IPPIS system was set up to ensure the smooth running of payment processes to prevent delays, adding that prompt salary payment was important to the federal government.

It urged all MDAs to desist from irregular actions which hampered the operation of the IPPIS system, leading to payment delays and suffering for civil servants.

Bleak Christmas all the way

However, contrary to earlier assurances by the federal government that payment of workers’ December salaries would take effect before the festivities, this was not to be.

Speaking with a cross-section of state and federal government workers at the weekend, they confided in The Nation that they weren’t paid their December salaries despite assurances by government.

“We are yet to receive our December salaries as I’m talking to you. In fact, it would be a miracle if we get it by the first week of January,” lamented a federal civil servant who asked not to be named.

Echoing similar sentiments, the duo of Oriyomi and Azeez, who are in the employ of an agency in one of the southwestern states, said they were yet to be paid their November and December salaries till date.

Pensioners’ woes

Just as civil servants are lamenting over unpaid salaries, for pensioners it has been pretty difficult to survive in this hard times, as a majority of them wallow in abject penury.

Sharing his experience, an ex-service officer who asked not to be named confided in The Nation that their pension have been practically irregular in the last few years as their pension expense have not been included in the budget overtime.

“It is really tough and rough for most of us ex-servicemen in this country. We are owed arrears running into billions and there is no hope at all as the year winds down in just a few days. We have seen better Christmas in our lifetime,” the source said.

Corroborating him, Chairman, Ex-servicemen Welfare Association, Col. Mica Gaya, in a statement made available to The Nation lamented the pitiable plight of his comrades.

In the statement which reads in part, Col. Gaya recalled that: “After the last discussion we had with the representatives of the Minister of Finance, the government said they can only pay 33 per cent pension arrears in bits for five years from 2015-2019. Then all 63NA’s who joined the army after 1960 must have died. We rejected it. It is not acceptable to us.

“Another meeting was called on 3rd of December, 2014, which also ended in a deadlock as the association was not prepared to gamble with the future and welfare of our members who have continued to be at the receiving end of government’s poor welfarist policies,” he stressed.